JERUSALEM – Two parts of an ancient biblical manuscript separated across centuries and continents were reunited for the first time in a joint display Friday, thanks to an accidental discovery that is helping illuminate a dark period in the history of the Hebrew Bible.

The 1,300-year-old fragments, which are among only a handful of Hebrew biblical manuscripts known to have survived the era in which they were written, existed separately and with their relationship unknown, until a news photograph of one's public unveiling in 2007 caught the attention of the scholars who would eventually link them.

Together, they make up the text of the Song of the Sea, sung by jubilant Israelites after fleeing slavery in Egypt and witnessing the destruction of the pharaoh's armies in the Red Sea.

"The enemy said: 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. My lust shall be satisfied upon them, I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them,'" reads the song, which appears in the Book of Exodus. "Thou didst blow thy wind, the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters."

An exhibit at Israel's national museum dedicated to the Song of the Sea is now bringing together the two long-separated pieces.

One page of the song, known as the Ashkar manuscript, was previously housed in a rare books library at Duke University in North Carolina and was first displayed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem in 2007.

That's when a photograph of the manuscript in a local newspaper caught the eye of two Israeli paleographers, Mordechay Mishor and Edna Engel, who noticed it resembled a different page of Hebrew writing known as the London manuscript, presently part of the private collection of Stephan Loewentheil of New York.

"The uniformity of the letters, the structure of the text, and the techniques used by the scribe ... it made it very clear to me," Engel said.

The relationship would not be so clear to a casual observer. The Ashkar manuscript has been so blackened by exposure to the elements that the text is all but invisible, while the London manuscript is legible and far better preserved. But after close study of ultraviolet images, the experts were able to confirm that the texts were not only written by the same scribe, but were also part of the same scroll.

Scholars believe the scroll was written around the seventh century somewhere in the Middle East, possibly in Egypt. It is not known how the two parts were separated or what happened to the rest of the manuscript.

The museum arranged to have the London manuscript brought to Jerusalem. The new exhibit chronicles how the Song of the Sea was written through various ancient manuscripts, from the 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls to the manuscript known as the Aleppo Codex, written nearly a millennium later.

The reunification of the two pieces adds an important link in the chain, showing how the writing of the Hebrew Bible evolved through the so-called "silent" period — between the third and 10th centuries — from which nearly no Biblical texts survived. While in the Dead Sea Scrolls the song is arranged like prose, for example, in the newly reunited manuscript it is written like a poem, the same way it appears in the Hebrew Bible today.

The manuscripts are "filling the gap," said Israel Museum curator Adolfo Roitman. "We can see we are dealing with a tradition that is still alive."

The museum exhibit displays the manuscripts along with other depictions of the Song of the Sea from the museum's permanent collection, including artistic renderings of the biblical passages in frescoes and Renaissance paintings and recordings of the song as it is chanted by Jews in different communities worldwide.

Thoughts?

what it means to become a magi:building up a resistance to the bullshit. samuelthemule

YES!!! My first reply to a post ever & it is from the almighty PINDZ!!!!!!!!

Do not ever leave this site brotherman!

You are ENTERTAINMENT!!!!

But no, I have not read much of anything to do with religion.

I believe in a God or Gods (perphaps some form of energy even?) (aliens?)

However, I do not believe religions to be true.

Thanks for the welcome, been here a while lurking!

Nice post, I recently came across that through this little 'research project' hobby for about 3 years here now as a silent op too. Now is the time for the the truth to be told, so I'm not silent anymore either.

You are right about religion - it' man made.

The truest form of 'religion' is to take care of the widows and the orphans as well as the least of all.There is a connection between what the Bible teaches, Aliens, abductions, and more, however. The Book of Enoch describes this to great detail...Fascinating.

But over 2000+ years or more, man has made it so complicated and split up ( as well as all the religions too) so that it's not the cohesive, blatent, x-rated-in-your-face- truth that it should be anymore - except to those who want to search it out for themselves.Free will (and freedom) is a great gift, but also requires great accountability for wrong choices based on set laws, rules and regulations of the highest power.

God is a person with a physical body but greater than all. Having a body and spirit, but not constrained by its abilities,able to be in all, all knowing but caring about the smallest things in everyone's life, wishing for us to choose life not death.Right not wrong,good not evil.But He is also totally good - no evil can be in His presence or else it be destroyed. He is righteous. (explains the rationale "I can't understand why God would do that/let that happen")If we would be in his presence we would be destroyed because of the bad stuff we do or say, except for the blood of Jesus that covered those things and cleaned us from them. He even helps us overcome them if we keep trying and asking for forgiveness.

That's why he had his Son, Jesus, (alien hybid) to take the evil we did,are doing and will do, on himself, in our place and fastened them to the cross so that we can be in the heavens (outer space) with him forever just by believing that He did that for everyone who chooses to believe in him:sunny: no one else coud or would have I think.How cool is that!

Oh, btw Jesus could be viewed as 'alien hybrid' (no disrespect - I think HE knows anyways) tying these two memes together...in the truest meaning of the definition...angels too - good and bad). Understand the phrasing 'ALIEN' is a repackage of angels/demons and God,Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

His kingdom throne (on the planet 'Heaven') is coming here (possibly a small planet sized craft - see dimentions of New Jerusalem , which has also been called the Tabernacle of God, the Holy City, the City of God, the Celestial City, and Heavenly Jerusalem, is literally heaven on earth. It is referred to in the Bible in several places (Isaiah 52:1, Galatians 4:26, Hebrews 11:10, 12:22-24, and 13:14), but it is most fully described in the 21st chapter of the book of Revelation.

The Truth - as best as I understand it:

This event will be happening soon, but first a mass 'alien abduction' (the harpazo) the 'Rapture' of the current followers of Jesus (as well as those who have died - they get to board first as a privelege ) - (Several of us believe that this could very well be this September 2010 during Rosh Hashannah - the feast of trumpets..)

Then all hell breaks loose-meteorites and wars, destruction and re-wildization of America for around 3-3.5 years or so (time is shortened somehow - the Chile earthquake made the axis of the earth change and the days are now shorter...) 2012/2013

(NOTE:people that stick together survive better. A gardener will be more valuable than a stockbroker,banker etc...Nitewatch,guns and show of force will be necessary for security for neighborhoods etc. probly no utilities to new believers in Jesus, rfid decliners, truthers etc. just the elites, thier cronies and slaves.)

..then the 144000 Jews saved as well as anyone becoming a believer in Jesus at this time - many will be killed, however, because they won't take verichip rfid/magnetic nano tattoo...don't fear what man can do, fear what God will dothen armageddon = WWIII 3.5 years or so - 2016/2017Jesus returns to set up kingdom for 1000 years in Jerusalem and peace for 1000 years under total righteousness. Should be around 2017-2018 when this happens.

Sorry, for the length. Time is short. People need to know and be able to choose from the real truth and all the rest of the 2000+ years of lies, half lies, some lies and no responses.

The war is for our souls - not money, power, land - the bad aliens are goin' down and they know it and try to take as many of us as they can with them....

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